JorgeDavid

Yeah, that's the idea and one of the possible changes! However, in this version you changed the melody at the cadence right before. In this new version the melody at the end of the previous section soars higher than in the original one. I think, if you play the melody an octave higher, it is better to keep the melody prior to that in the same range as in the original version, since, otherwise, it breaks the novelty of the higher rang. You could also keep this new melodic ascend at the cadence and that might add some contrast for the entrance of the original melody you had in G5. Also, I think in both versions, one of the main issues is that the Cmin accompaniment chords are too loud. I would make those chords much softer and, in general make that whole section softer than the previous one (both melody and accompaniment, but specially the later). Thiis dynamic change could also help quite a lot.

Hello @Kvothe , thank you so much for all the feedback and glad you enjoyed the piece! You are right, I had not realized until you pointed it out. I decided to change those measures so I modified m.14 and similar measures so now the transition to the contrasting section of A is done without stopping the waltz rhythmic flow. I experimented a little bit with the harmony. In general I am happy with most progressions except for m.7~9 where I do the following harmonic progression: Db7 --> Bbaug/D --> Ebmin. It was a solution I came across for moving from Db7 to Ebmin while having an enharmonic common tone (F#-Gb) in the melody. Yes, I agree. Since I composed it as a short piece I tried to have fun with the main melody (not trying to write sentence, period or hybrid, which I did in the B section instead) but it came out too Jazzy. I do like it but I think it gets too chromatic too early (so I like it the main theme much more during the reprise than at the beginning, once the ear got used to it). I think it is okay for a short piece like this but I am trying to learn ways to "smooth" the way to chromatism in themes like this one. Thank you so much for all the feedback!

There is a key change but, I was meaning mostly the change of tessitura and texture (in that particular instance, besides changing the key, you leave large gaps between the accompaniment and the melody, which contrasts with the previous measures in which the G staff was clustered with notes). What I meant around 1:50 was not a modulation, but rather a change in tessitura for the melody. I might be wrong, but the same melody is played for the first time around the 00:59 mark, which, at the same time, is a variation of the main melody with which the piece starts. As a result, while my ear does not ask for a key change (the initial Cmin chords from m.34 sound perfectly nice to me), when the G5 sounds, yet once more, somehow my ear is tired of hearing the melody always in that range. I think, at that point, it would really make it much fresher playing the melody an octave higher or even in a bass (with the melody played below the Cmaj accompaniment chord), starting it in G6 or G3. For example, this is a fast draft I made of the initial measures when played an octave higher. Since the melody has already being played in around G5 for a few times, it might make it fresher going up an octave like this. The melody has some fast notes at times, so it cannot be played in octaves easily, but something like this might work at times. octave_melody.mp3 Hope it helps!

This is really lovely! I especially love the melodic ideas. However, I agree that it feels a little repetitive at times, particularly before 3:22. I listened without the score, so I can't give much feedback on the harmony itself. From a listener's perspective, I think the piece could benefit from a few more changes in texture here and there. Nothing too obvious, so as not to disrupt the contemplative mood. For example, I really loved the change of texture at 3:22. More moments like that, might help reduce the sense of repetition while still maintaining its contemplative flow. In particular, at 1:52, I found myself wanting to hear the melody an octave higher (perhaps doubled in octaves). As it stands, it presents a variation of the main theme in the same register, and my ears were asking for a change in tessitura at that point. This is really beautiful and an orchestral version would be so beautiful too! Orchestrating it would also give you lots of chances to add variety with the instrumental colors. Thanks for sharing!

Hi everyone! I composed this short waltz for piano today. I'm still practicing it, so for now I've used the sounds from MuseScore 4. It was inspired by Tchaikovsky's Album for the Young, Op. 39. The opening melodic motif is quite similar to that of No. 8, "Waltz," and I also used some harmonic progressions that I learned from No. 14, "Polka." While studying and practicing pieces from that album, I started wanting to compose several short piano pieces and create my own "Album for the Young." This is my first attempt. It is a waltz in B-flat major, although the tonal center shifts around quite a bit. The form is ABA', with A being the main waltz theme and B a slower lyrical brief section in Cmaj. As always, every feedback, comment or suggestion is more than welcome and hope you enjoy it! Thank you!

Thank you! I am glad you found the notation and layout satisfying as well. I had some troubles to notate the atonal accidentals in the atonal section and in the went for what looked more beautiful and easier to read when playing. I only composed one piece in Amaj a couple of years ago. From then on, somehow I have only been able to compose mostly pieces in minor 😅 Thanks again, @Churchcantor !

Thak you so much @SergeOfArniVillage , I am really glad you liked it! I also considered mixing both sections but, to be honest, the main reason I started with the tonal section was because I lacked skills and ideas to keep the atonal section going. So before mixing atonal and tonal ideas I think I will need to learn much more about atonality (what makes it work and different techniques). Thanks for commenting!

Thank you so much, @Churchcantor , I am really glad you enjoyed it! I had my doubts at first with those sections with the A-E against Eb-Ab, so it is nice to hear that it works! Thanks for listening and commenting!

Hello everyone! This weekend I experimented with a really simple atonal technique and I turned the experiment into this piece for piano. The technique is "mirror writing". I applied it in the simplest way possible. The process was the following: 1. I decided on using four voices and mirror them around the middle C axis. 2. For each melody note, I added the mirrored bass below it (for example, a top note A is accompanied by the bass Eb, both a major sixth above/below middle C). 3. After that, I chose both internal notes (considering that those need to also be mirrored against each other). Except for two measures, the whole main theme was created through that technique. Afterwards I composed a tonal middle section and turned the piece into the form ABA'B'A''. This time I tried avoiding excessive exact repetition (with techniques such as changing octaves, creating different melodic contours and accompaniment, or mixing final restatement of main theme with the coda) in order to add some variety to the whole. That is because I tend to just copy and paste most of my sections and I want to get rid of that habit. In addition, the first measure copies the beginning of Schubert's Impromptu No.1 in C minor. As always, every feedback, comment or suggestion is more than welcome and hope you enjoy it! Thank you!

Hello everyone, I recently updated a little draft of music for string quintet on the incomplete works forum and I just developed it into a full piece. After some thought, the section felt somehow like a developed theme, so I composed a main theme by using some of the musical features found in that draft I composed. The piece is an elegy and has the following sections: [m.1~m.9] Introduction -- The introduction was composed by making use of the most important harmonies of the piece: Cmaj, Cminor, Dbmaj and Gmaj. [m.10 ~ m.25] Main theme -- Main theme in C minor. This theme is in 2/2 (cut time). It works as a period but, in this case, both statements end in a half cadence (the second has a stronger modulation to G). [m.26 ~ m.40] Development section (original draft) -- Developmental section which starts with the main theme in Cmaj. This section is repeated once and it is in 4/4 (common time). [m.41 ~ m.51] Restatement of main theme -- second part of the main theme repeated once, this time ending in a perfect cadence (with picardy third in last chord). I am considering repeating also the first part of the theme in the restatement. Somehow I feel the development lasts for long enough as to justify a complete repeat of the initial theme, but I am still not sur. Any suggestion about the best thing to do is welcome! I think the atmosphere fits that title of "elegy", but it is also too hopeful at times so I am not sure if it is really an elegy. Please, let me know if you have any suggestion for the title! Also, I am not sure about the use of dotted notes for those moments in which they need to cut the phrase a little earlier. Would there be a better way for notating that? Thank you! As always any feedback is more than welcome and hope you enjoy it!

Thanks, @PeterthePapercomPoser. I browse through the forum from time to time, although I do not have much time to listen lots of things attentively :S. I have bookmarked some of your "20th century harmony" exercises because I am interested in trying to study that book and I loved some of the ones you made. Will probably comment on some of those when I have a little time to analyze the scores! (and probably use them as examples to compose my own exercises!) Somehow I feel it is too short and that it stars too abruptly so I was thinking about options to extend it. You pointing out about the "double exposition" made me realize that, what I currently have, might be understood as two different themes (or parts of a theme) starting in m.1 and in m.7. I might play around with some different forms but I was thinking on extending those ideas into full themes and then playing them like this: A section 1. Theme I in Cmin 2. Theme II in Gmaj (or minor) B section (The section I have composed). 1. Theme I in Cmaj with sudden transition to Theme II in Cmin and coda. I am not sure if it would be a valid form or not, I guess it would be like a binary piece based on the exposition + recapitulation of a sonata form. Maybe I end up failing and just adding a final chord to what I have now. But I will give it a try. Thanks for the feedback!

EDIT: The completed work, that was composed starting from this draft, can be found here. Hello everyone, As always I am still focusing on improving my piano playing and not composing, but today I decided to sit down and composed a little draft. I was wondering what your thoughts were. It is a short section (it could be the first section of a small piece) for string quintet. Now sure whether I should continue it, put it aside, or maybe use only some parts for a future piece. If I decide to continue, I am not sure what to do with it, either. I guess just a simple binary/ternary piece as most times. It starts in C major but it immediately goes to C minor (where it spends most of the section) so I just called it Cmaj/min draft. For this one, I let my ideas flow quite freely so the melody is more chaotic than my usual. Do you think it is good enough to be used? Any feedback is welcome! Thank you!

Another way would be to move to Abmin for a moment and then, from there, to its parallel major of Cbmaj (enharmonically equivalent to Bmaj). I think it could be quite smooth specially if you go through the V64 --> V progression (B/F# --> F#). For example: I guess this couldn't be considered a lush progression, though. As @Monarcheon suggested, for a lush progression it might be better to start with some line (maybe melody, or a strong bassline that you know points towards B major, or both) and start filling in the remaining voices in any way that sounds good.

Thanks for listening and commenting @Kvothe, and I am glad you found it to be a nice piece!! Yeah, the initial plan was trying to emulate Bartok/Stravinsky style but, since I did not really have fluency with that, after following the simple steps outlined in the post, I ended up just composing it in my own style (by that I mean composing it in any way that sounded good to me without any effort to emulate any particular style). I need to study Bartok style more in depth yet as I found it quite complex😣 I have never listened to Rachmoninov vocalises but I will give them a listen!! Thank you!

Thanks for your nice words and for listening, @MJFOBOE. Nino Rota is one of my favorite composers (specially his "circus" music) so I am really happy that you said that! 😄Glad you enjoyed! Thank you!